Football: Chawinga is best female striker in Sweden

Chawinga scored 41 goals in two seasons in the Swedish female championshipPhoto: fogis.se

Malawian star Tabitha Chawinga has been named the best striker in female football in Sweden after hitting 26 goals in the top league this season.

Chawinga, who played for local club Kvarnsveden IK but has now joined Chinese side Jiangsu Suning in a two-year deal, won the award ahead of Stina Blackstenius of France’s Montpellier Heralt SC and Lieke Marten of another local side, FC Rosengard.

During a football gala on Monday night in Stockholm, the Sweden capital, a jury described her as a player with balance, techniques and speed that lined up goals and performances of the highest quality.

Although her team did not survive the Damallsvenskan, the female championship, the 21 year-old scored her goals in 22 matches to emerge as leading goal scorer.

She is the first player in 10 years to hit that many goals in a single season..

Chawinga was a success in her debut season in Sweden last year, scoring 15 times to take third spot on the top scorer’s chart.